Belarus unable to raise water level in Lithuania's Neris River

Belarus will not be able to raise the water level in the Viliya River (Neris - in Lithuania) to compensate for the lack of water resources on the Lithuanian side. This opinion was expressed by Alyaksandr Stankevich, Director of Central Research Institute of Integrated Water Resources Use.

According to the expert, Belarus currently has the same climatic conditions as Lithuania. The reserve in the Vilejka reservoir is necessary to maintain the water balance in the Belarusian territory, including the provision of drinking water to almost a third of the residents of Minsk, said Stankevich in an interview with Interfax.by

He also noted that the reason for the drying up of Viliya (Neris) is the low rainfall. If more rain falls, the situation will improve. There is no guarantee that in 2-3 weeks there will be significant precipitation to increase the supply of water from the Vileika reservoir without loss to the Belarusian side.

Earlier, the Minister of Environment Protection of Lithuania Kęstutis Mažeika turned to the Belarusian Environmental Protection Agency for assistance in restoring the water level in Neris. This was reported by the Lithuanian media. However, the Ministry of Natural Resources of Belarus says that there was no official request from Vilnius.